General Election 2015

Kilmer on 2013, and your opportunity to ask a question

Derek Kilmer, Kitsap’s congressman, sent newsletter subscribers
an end-of-year recap of the top 10 questions he has heard this
year. Read this, but also take the time if you like to ask a
question you’d like to see the congressman answer. If you’ve gone
to any of the Gig Harbor Democrat’s public events you’ve heard some
of the following comments, especially the one about head lice.

Since most people don’t make it out to the events, feel free to
leave a question here. I’ll forward them to Kilmer in a couple
weeks. I have a hunch I know one of the questions you might
ask.

Here’s the Kilmer newsletter.

Over the past year I’ve sent you 23 updates about what I’ve been
up to as your Representative. Since this e-newsletter will be the
last of 2013, it’s going to be a little different.

I think one of the biggest problems in Washington, DC today is
that some legislators aren’t listening enough to their
constituents, so I’ve held 10 public town halls, four telephone
town halls, and I’ve met folks from our neck of the woods at over
60 festivals, county fairs, and annual community events.

For those who haven’t had a chance to be a part of that
give-and-take, let me do a rundown of the answers to some of the
most common questions I received during this first year in
Congress. So, with apologies to David Letterman, I give you…

THE TOP TEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS I GOT THIS YEAR

10.) “Is it as bad as it looks?”

This is the question I get asked more than any other. I will
tell you that it’s strange to join an organization that – according
to recent polls – is held in lower regard than head lice and
colonoscopies.

After nearly a year on the job, I can affirm that Congress
continues to be a “fixer-upper.” But I’m here because I hope to
make it better.

While much of the past year has been focused on partisan games,
I’m hopeful that the recent budget deal is a sign that 2014 may
bring more folks from both sides of the aisle together to find
solutions to our nation’s problems. If we’re going to get our
economy – and this Congress – back on track, we’ve got to stop
seeing folks define success as making the other political party
look stupid.

9) “Yikes! That sounds frustrating. Is there any hope?”

Despite the dysfunction, there’s cause for hope.

Here’s why: there’s a growing group of folks from both parties
that are committed to righting the ship.

Twice a month I participate in a meeting of the Bipartisan
Working Group. It’s a group of Democrats and Republicans who are
committed to working to get past the toxicity in our dialogue and
find ways to work together. While the challenges facing our nation
are too big to be fixed overnight, every time I walk out of those
Wednesday morning meetings (and the meetings of the Problem Solvers
Caucus that I’ve also become a part of), I feel confident and
hopeful that we can get things back on track.

8) Speaking of working together. Does the Washington delegation
work together much?

I’ve learned to watch my step around some members of the
Washington delegation. Literally. Early on here, I accidently
stepped on Representative Rick Larsen’s shoe and I broke it. As he
hobbled around on a broken shoe for the rest of the day, I lived
with the shame of having “flat-tired” one of my colleagues.

Seriously, though, we actually do interact quite frequently and
quite positively. For example, Rep. Larsen and Rep. Adam Smith and
I are all on the House Armed Services Committee together. Having
three representatives from Washington on the committee is helpful
as we work together to support our service members and ensure
Washington State’s interests are protected.

What’s more, the House members from our state – Democrats and
Republicans – get together for a periodic breakfast to catch up, to
discuss issues facing our state, and to figure out how we can work
together on some shared priorities. For instance, we’ve now had a
majority of the state’s representatives become a part of the new
Puget Sound Recovery Caucus I am co-chairing. We’re working
together to ensure that the sales tax deduction that benefits
Washington State citizens becomes a part of any tax reform
proposal.

And if that’s not enough, for the nights when I’m in D.C., I
actually share an apartment with our neighboring congressman (and
my co-chair of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus), Rep. Denny Heck.
People are convinced that we should write a sitcom. For the record,
I’m the “neat one.”

7) How’s the travel?

Not bad. Having met my wife Jennifer on an airplane back in
1996, I built up more positive airline karma than I ever
deserved.

Listen, I knew when I signed up for this job that I was also
signing up for a 3,000 mile commute to work. And, admittedly, I’ve
learned the exact number of pretzels to expect in an Alaska
Airlines pretzel package.

That said, I’m psyched to make it home nearly every weekend
because it’s important I see and interact with my constituents as
much as possible (not to mention my own family). Sure, that means a
lot of time on a plane. But, on the bright side, I get 11 hours a
week of mostly-uninterrupted work time. I get a lot of time to read
policy briefings and to respond to letters from constituents. So if
there’s something you think I should take a look at, email me!

6) So, did you get Norm Dicks’ office and committee
assignments?

In short, no.

As you can imagine, I was somewhat bummed to find out that I
wasn’t going to be the Ranking Member on the Appropriations
Committee like my predecessor. (I did, however, get two great
committees: Armed Services and Science, Space, and Technology).

Office designations, too, are based on seniority and then on a
random drawing. Let’s just say that I had about as much success in
the office lottery as I had in the recent Mega Millions drawing. Of
the 435 members of Congress, I drew the 429thoffice choice.

That said, I have no complaints about my office. Not only did it
come with a few tiny, furry “friends” (which has made the book
House Mouse, Senate Mouse even more entertaining for my kids), we
found out from the Library of Congress that it was the freshman
office of Washington State legend Henry M. Jackson when he served
in the House. Come visit us!

5) Any big surprises?

A few.

Prior to my tenure, Congress passed the Budget Control Act which
included sequestration as a poison pill. It was meant to be so
stupid that it would force Democrats and Republicans in the House
and the Senate to work together to deal with our nation’s long-term
fiscal health. Unfortunately, to my surprise, for most of the last
year, Congress chose to swallow the poison pill.

Thankfully, the end of 2013 saw the passage of a budget that,
while not perfect, will set aside the bulk of sequestration for the
next two years and ensure we won’t have another devastating
shutdown. Not only is that good news, it was a welcome surprise
after a year of partisanship to see our parties work together to
make some progress on the budget.

I was also surprised by the scrum for seats at the State of the
Union. Some of my colleagues REALLY wanted to have a seat on the
aisle so they could be on TV shaking the president’s hand. I
haven’t seen that much demand for seats since the last time Taylor
Swift visited the Tacoma Dome. I had a feeling it was trouble when
I walked in.

4) So, what’s on Congress’s list of New Year’s Resolutions?

For me, that’s simple: I need to eat healthier, exercise more,
and teach my dog Truman not to eat the furniture.

For Congress, the top of the list is fighting to extend
unemployment benefits early in the New Year. A recent report by
Washington State’s Employment Security Department found that 24,400
residents of our state lost their benefits on December 28 due to
the failure of Congress to act. Another 37,600 Washingtonians stand
to lose coverage over the course of the next six months. The impact
of letting unemployment insurance benefits lapse will also prove to
be yet another headwind to our economic recovery. In fact, the
White House Council on Economic Advisers estimates that the failure
to extend unemployment insurance benefits will cost the state of
Washington 6,183 jobs.

In addition, there are some big challenges that deserve
attention: a comprehensive immigration reform bill, improvements to
the Affordable Care Act, comprehensive tax reform to help Main
Street businesses and middle class families, actions to address
climate change, and campaign finance reform.

And most importantly, Congress should resolve in 2014 to get
focused on the economy. Not a single JOBS bill passed this year. I
hope that changes in 2014. In fact, I’m working with a group of
colleagues on the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. Stay
tuned for details as we work to get it passed.

3) What do I do if I’m not getting the help I need from a
federal agency?

On my district team, we’ve got some wonderfully talented
caseworkers who work every day to solve problems for the people we
represent and make sure government works for you. This year alone,
we’ve helped over 500 people resolve issues with government
agencies and we’ve helped return over $600,000 in savings for
constituents from agencies like Medicare, the VA, or the IRS. If
you have an issue or know someone who does, don’t hesitate to reach
out to us.

2) So, are we making progress?

Despite the dysfunction in our nation’s capital, there were some
policy successes. We saw the bipartisan passage of the Violence
Against Women Act. Just prior to the holidays, we saw Congress pass
a budget for the first time since 2009.

My focus – on the policy front and in the district – is on
economic development. I spent the past decade working in economic
development, and I feel strongly that a lot of the challenges
facing our nation will get a lot better when people get back to
work. That’s why I’ve proposed or cosponsored bills to help small
businesses, to improve workforce development, and to improve our
business climate. It’s why we fought (successfully!) to protect the
Small Business Development Centers in our region and are actively
working to responsibly increase harvest levels in the federal
forests, to protect jobs at our military installations, and to give
downtown revitalization a shot in the arm. I’m very hopeful that
2014 will see a greater focus by the Congress on helping our small
businesses.

That’s also why I do “Kilmer at Your Company” events. As we end
the year, I’ve visited with nearly five dozen companies in our
district. I’ve had the opportunity to help construct a door at the
Simpson facility in McCleary. I’ve visited hospitals, toured
emergency rooms, or stopped by dialysis centers in every county in
the district (and used a lot of hand sanitizer). I’ve slipped on
some hip-waders and gotten into a cranberry bog. I’ve visited IT
companies, manufacturers, and local small businesses. In each
meeting, I try to get a sense of the good, the bad, and the ugly of
how our employers are interacting with the federal government. I
want to make sure that we’re doing all we can to see employers
grow, succeed, and stay here in our region.

While there’s obviously much more to do, I’m proud that my team
has accomplished a lot for folks in our region for the past year.
Take a look at this “Year End Report” we put out that shows some of
our efforts and accomplishments.

1.) So, overall, how’s it been?

When I first decided to run for federal office, the most common
question I received was: “Why on earth would you want to serve in
Congress when it’s such a mess and you have two little kids?” My
answer remains the same now as it was then. “It’s because it’s a
mess and I have two little kids.” Their ability to grow up in an
America where there is growing educational and economic
opportunity, where our nation is secure, and where there is clean
air and water is important to me. But getting there requires
Congress to get to work.

Being your Representative is an honor and a privilege and not a
day goes by that I’m not grateful for the opportunity. I’m heading
into 2014 highly motivated to get things back on track.

Let me just end by saying I’m grateful to each of you for
continuing to read these updates, and for continuing to provide me
with your thoughts and advice. I wish you a happy new year, and I
look forward to hearing from you in the coming year.

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5 thoughts on “Kilmer on 2013, and your opportunity to ask a question”

Question:
I’m told that government will pay for Lymphedema rehab but not for the supplies that help keep a patient self sufficient and caring for themselves without need of the more expensive frequent professional rehab.

Why doesn’t Medicare look to patient education and help with medical wraps to save money AND offer the patient a better quality of life first?

I’ve asked Kilmer about 24 questions over the past year either face to face, by telephone, or via email. He hasn’t answered any of them. Rather, he pulls a ‘Cantwell’ and sometimes sends responses unrelated to the question. One of his aides called me on one particular question where I had asked Kilmer to respond to my recommendation of a biennial (rather than annual) operations and maintenance (O&M) budget as a means of saving tens of billions of dollars per year. As a Navy Officer trained in federal budgeting and contracting, we’ve known how significant of a solution a biennial budget would be. His aide couldn’t address it and wouldn’t get back.

I wish the press would look past the press releases and ‘feel good’ talking points and ask the deep questions.

These should be some of the top questions:
Rep. Kilmer, you complain about Republicans trying to cut funding. What are your specific proposals to balance the budget?

Why won’t you release your PhD thesis, titled: ‘Economic Addiction: The development and decline of natural resource dependent communities in the South Wales valley and the Pacific Northwest of the US’? Does he really think harvesting timber is an economic addiction?

Why won’t you resist the Executive branch intrusion over Congressional oversight of the budget and regulations?

Do you believe in ‘Social Justice’ or ‘Equal Justice’? You can’t do both.

Virtually every Executive Branch department has violated the law, fired whistleblowers, committed fraud, and become more opaque. What are you doing to bring violators to justice?

When are we going to see a nation wide ban on the use of red light cameras?
Based on my experience with the Redflex cameras in Bremerton, these automated infraction cameras have done nothing but corrupted our goverment. For example, Judge Docter hired an un-sworn , unqualified, un apppointed person to wear his robe and to act as a “judge” in these cases. Bremerton’s police officer was given an all expense paid stay at the Ritz Carlton by Redflex Inc in exchange for his positive testimony in a court case case against their competitor. Or the officer whose name appears on the redflex ticket “under the penalty of perjury, true and correct” yet the ticket was signed and dated in Arizona on a day he was not even duty. Or what about the constitutionality of these for profit cameras? All across the country these cameras are being shut down for violating peoples basic rights. All across the country municipalities have reduced red light running by meerly adjusting their yellow light times. But here in Bremerton there is no acountability.
So when is ther going to be a nation wide ban on these corrupted camera companies and the cities who rake in their profit.